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The Great Mouse Detective
The Great Mouse Detective is a 1986 American animated mystery-comedy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, originally released to movie theaters on July 2, 1986 by Walt Disney Pictures. The 26th feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, the film was directed by Burny Mattinson, David Michener and the team of John Musker and Ron Clements, who later directed Disney's hit films The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. The film was also known as The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective for its 1992 theatrical re-release and''' Basil the Great Mouse Detective''' in some countries. The main characters are all mice and rats living in Victorian London. Based on the children's book series Basil of Baker Street by Eve Titus, it draws heavily on the tradition of Sherlock Holmes with a heroic mouse who consciously emulates the detective; Titus named the main character after actor Basil Rathbone, who is best remembered for playing Holmes in film (and whose voice, sampled from a 1966 reading of The Adventure of the Red-Headed League was the voice of Holmes in this film, 19 years after his death). Sherlock Holmes also mentions Basil as one of his aliases in the Arthur Conan Doyle story The Adventure of Black Peter. After the box office under-performance of Disney's previous animated feature film The Black Cauldron, this simpler film proved to be a success upon its initial release in 1986. As such, the new senior management of the company were convinced that their animation department was still a viable enterprise and this set the stage for the Disney Renaissance. Plot In London, circa 1897, a young mouse named Olivia Faversham is celebrating her birthday with her toymaker father, Hiram. Suddenly, Fidget, a bat with a peg leg, barges in, and after a brief struggle, disappears with Hiram. Fidget takes Hiram to Professor Ratigan who commands him to create a clockwork robot which mimics the Queen of the Mice so Ratigan can rule England. Hiram initially refuses to participate in the scheme, but agrees when Ratigan threatens Olivia. Returning to London after a tour of duty in Afghanistan, Dr. David Q. Dawson stumbles upon Olivia, who is searching for the renowned Basil of Baker Street. Dawson escorts Olivia to Basil's residence and the two meet the detective. At first, Basil is reluctant, but when Olivia describes Fidget, Basil now realizes his chance to capture Ratigan. Basil and Dawson take Toby, Sherlock Holmes's pet beagle, to track Fidget's scent, where they locate him in a toyshop stealing clockwork mechanisms and toy soldiers' uniforms. Fidget later traps Olivia by ambushing her from inside a toy cradle. Basil and Dawson pursue Fidget, but become entangled and fall behind. While searching the shop, Dawson discovers Fidget's checklist, to which Basil does some chemical tests to discover the list came from a riverfront near the Thames. Basil and Dawson disguise themselves as sailors and go into a tavern called the Rat Trap and follow Fidget to Ratigan's hooligans tie them to a spring-loaded mousetrap connected with a Rube Goldberg machine laid out to kill them both. Ratigan sets out for Buckingham Palace, where Fidget and his accomplices kidnap the queen. Basil, along with Dawson, deduces the trap's weakness and escape just in time, shortly after Dawson helps Basil out of a state of self-pity that he allowed himself into, thanks to Ratigan. At Buckingham Palace, Ratigan forces Hiram to operate the toy Queen, while the real Queen is taken to be fed to Felicia, Ratigan's pet cat. The toy Queen declares Ratigan the ruler of all Mousedom, and he announces his tyrannical plans for his new subject. Just then, Basil, Dawson and Olivia save Hiram and the real Queen, and apprehend Fidget (along with Ratigan's other henchmen). Basil seizes control of the mechanical queen, making it breaks apart. The crowd, enraged by Ratigan's treason, start climbing on him and escapes on his dirigible with Fidget, holding Olivia hostage. Basil, Dawson and Hiram create their own craft with a matchbox and some small helium-filled balloons, held together by the Union Jack. Ration tosses Fidget overboard to lighten the craft, and then attempts to drive the dirigible himself. Basil jumps on to the dirigible to confront Ratigan, causing him to crash straight into the Big Ben clocktower. Inside the clocktower, Basil manages to get Ratigan's cape stuck on some gears and rescues Olivia and safely delivers her to Hiram. Ration, however breaks free and attacks Basil, eventually knocking him to the dirigible, until the clock bell strikes 10:00 and the sound of the bell sends Ratigan falling to his death, taking Basil with him. However, Basil manages to grab the wreckage of Ratigan's dirigible and save himself from falling just in time. Back at Baker Street, Basil and Dawson recount their adventures, as well as the queen's gratitude for saving her life. Afterwards, the Flavershams leave to catch their train. As Dawson tries to leave, a distraught new client solicits Basil's help, with Basil noting that Dawson is his trusted associate, prompting Dawson to remain and assist Basil. Cast * Barrie Ingham as Basil and Bartholomew * Vincent Price as Professor Ratigan * Val Bettin as Major Dr. David Q. Dawson * Susanne Pollatschek as Olivia Flaversham * Candy Candido as Fidget and Reprobate in the Pub * Frank Welker as Toby and Felicia * Alan Young as Hiram Flaversham * Diana Chesney as Mrs. Judson * Eve Brenner as Queen Mousetoria * Melissa Manchester as Miss Kitty Mouse * Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes * Laurie Main as Dr. Watson * Wayne Allwine, Tony Anselmo, Walker Edmiston and Val Bettin as the Thug Guards Songs * The World's Greatest Criminal Mind (performed by Vincent Price and Chorus) * Goodbye, So Soon (performed by Vincent Price and Chorus) * Let Me Be Good To You (performed by Melissa Manchester) * Goodbye So Soon Reprise (performed by Chorus) International premieres * United States: July 2, 1986 * Argentina: July 17, 1986 * United Kingdom: October 10, 1986 * France: November 26, 1986 * Sweden: November 28, 1986 * West Germany: December 4, 1986 * Denmark: December 5, 1986 * Spain: December 5, 1986 * Netherlands: December 18, 1986 * Finland: December 19, 1986 * Portugal: December 19, 1986 * Brazil: December 25, 1986 * Colombia: December 25, 1986 * Australia: December 26, 1986 * Hong Kong: February 26, 1987 * Norway: April 9, 1987 * Italy: April 16, 1987 * Ireland: June 12, 1987 * Mexico: July 2, 1987 * Israel: July 4, 1987 * Philippines: November 1, 1988 * Japan: July 22, 1989 * China: September 9, 1990 * Singapore: August 19, 1994 * Turkey: May 12, 2010 International titles * Argentina, Mexico & Peru: Policías y ratones * Brazil: As Peripécias de um Ratinho Detetive * Bulgaria: Базил, великият мишок детектив * Canada: Basil, le grand détective des souris * Denmark & Norway: Mesterdetektiven Basil Mus * Finland: Basil Hiiri, mestarietsivä * France: Basil, détective privé * Germany: Basil, der große Mäusedetektiv * Greece: Ο μεγάλος Ποντικο-ντετέκτιβ * Hungary: Basil, a híres egérdetektív * Iran: Karagah moosh-e bozorg * Israel: Basil HaBalash HaGadol * Italy: Basil l'investigatopo * Japan: オリビアちゃんの大冒険 (Oribia-chan no Daibouken) (Olivia's great adventure) * Netherlands: De speurneuzen * Poland: Wielki mysi detektyw * Portugal: Rato Basílio, o Grande Mestre dos Detectives * Russia: Великий мышиный сыщик * Serbia: Veliki mišji detektiv * Sweden: Mesterdetektiven Basil Mus * Turkey: Muhteşem fare dedektif * Ukraine: Великий мишачий детектив International releases For information about international dubs and releases, The Great Mouse Detective/International. Category:1986 films Category:1980s American animated films Category:Produced by Burny Mattinson Category:Films produced by Burny Mattinson Category:Films directed by Ron Clements Category:Films directed by Burny Mattinson Category:Films directed by Dave Michener Category:Films directed by John Musker Category:Film scores by Henry Mancini Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios films Category:Walt Disney Pictures Category:Walt Disney Feature Animation Category:DVD Category:VHS